Orange County outfit Cosmonauts boasts a blend of chaos and comedowns in their forever-fuzzy rock ‘n’ roll repertoire. Last year’s If You Wanna Die Then I Wanna Die (Burger Records) hits both amped-up, anxious highs and droning, lost-in-lament lows with equal intensity. Nailing an energetic, raucous jam like “Motorcycle #1” is a feat in itself, but it’s exuding the emotion required to make a slow-crawl space-out like “Super Reverb” engaging from start to finish is another endeavor altogether—but that’s precisely the kind of thing Cosmonauts do.

Their third LP, Persona Non Grata, won’t be out on Burger until summer’s end. Luckily, Volar Records stepped in to tide us over with the “Sweet Talk”/”Wear Your Hair Like a Weapon” 7-inch. Both selections are brooding, almost sinister songs that imply the forthcoming full-length might showcase a bit darker, occasionally despondent side of the band.

Blast the new tracks below while you read out guitarist/vocalist Derek Cowart’s responses to our 5GB series, then check them out tomorrow night—for free!—at 529.

What’s the first gig you ever attended?

I think the first show I went to was Weird Al at the OC Fair when I was a kid. He dressed up like Santa and sang about being fat.

What is the best gig that you ever played/performed?

One of the best was probably at San Francisco State University with the Growlers. The place was packed, people went nuts and we were loud. Really loud.

What is the best gig you have ever seen?

I saw Spectrum at Spaceland in LA, that was a really radical show. Everyone was glued to the stage once Sonic Boom started playing.

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